[The last chapter was Iskall and Grian having dinner, then arguing for some reason Iskall doesn't understand, which ends in Grian leaving. Alone in his base he regrets his behaviour and decides to overcome his insecurities by *cough* 'experimenting' on his own with partial success. He shows a lot of nervousness]

TW: Dark humor, unreal scenes, insecurity;
hot!gay kisses, warnings will be provided as usual

POV Iskall

Hmm.. How could he link up this redstone signal to the other side of the contraption? "Baby seal, what do you think?" His tiny, white and fluffy friend raised their head. "Squeak, squeak, squeak." "You're absolutely right, this should make a giant, perfectly round loop over the whole thing. Baby seal, you never disappoint me." Baby seal flapped their tail happily. Iskall turned around to grab some observers. His ice base lab was at the other side of this mountain of cookies, so he went into the blue swirls of a nether portal only to stroll over a field of purple tulips and into another portal. He plopped from the ceiling and bounced on the floor of his lab that was made of beautiful iskallium blocks. He steered his continuing bounces towards a shulker box that was hung from the wall at two thirds of the rooms height. He opened it to grab the observers, when a shrill ringing filled the room. It seemed to be fixed in thin air, just two blocks north of his head. He stared at the empty, ringing space, as the room dissolved in red darkness...

His arms felt as if they were filled with lead, but he still managed to throw one of them towards his annoying phone. His room was still mostly dark, the sun wouldn't rise for quite some time. Shuffling steps dragged his body into the bathroom, where he was greeted by dark shadows under his eyes. He splashed cold water in his face, then gave up and took an ice-cold shower. He stuffed some stale cookies in his inventory and swam through the enchanted water to the ice biome's surface.

Soon he was gliding over huge stretches of ocean, looking for the thing that would probably be his doom..

*Timeskip of doom*

Iskall landed smoothly, his eye caught by Grian's chestmonsters. He was glad they didn't share storage, what an absolute mess!

"Grian?" He called. "Grian, where are you?" No one answered. He shrugged, then carefully entered the private rooms. "Grian, I'm coming in. Can you hear me?"

He heard some hurried steps in the bedroom.
"I'm here. But don't come in!" The door said. A short pause. "What are you here for?"

Iskall chuckled. "What are you hiding, a body? Anyway, you said we were gonna catch an elder guardian today, so I've come to pick you up. Don't tell me you already forgot, it was your crazy plan!"

"Uhm... no I didn't, I just didn't think... I mean I didn't expect you to be here right now. Gosh! Normally you aren't even awake at this time of day!"

He sounded embarrassed, but in a cute way. Come to think of it, how was Grian not already up? Iskall made a mental note to ask him later.
"I've been a busy bee. How long until you're ready?"

There was some silence as Grian seemed to do some guesswork.
"About ten minutes, if I hurry."

"Alright."

"Uhm... Iskall...would you mind turning around? I kind of need to get to the shower,"
Grian chuckled nervously.

Goodness me, he thought. He is one shy guy.
"All clear. You can come through." The sound of light steps on wooden planks passed behind him.

"Doesn't sound like your dragging a body. Did you leave it in your bedroom?"

A door opened and even more hushed steps. He was waiting for the door to close.
"Well I wouldn't want you to hear me dragging the body, that would be a dead giveaway," Grian played along, then added, "You can wait on the couch, if you want to."

The door closed and Iskall walked through the open plan apartment and sat on the couch, feet propped up on the side table. Grian was so guarded. They had been together for about a month now and he hadn't even seen him in underwear. What was he so shy about? He was quite thin and his flying skills meant that he had to be at least somewhat physically fit. Maybe not a six pack, but also not that far from it. Iskall could hear the shower. There he was, naked and heart-breakingly close, but also incredibly far away.

What would it take for Grian to trust him?

A short while later, the bathroom door opened and there he was, not naked, but fully dressed and beautiful as always. A smile crept up Iskall's lips and he jumped from the couch.
"It's so good to see you!" And he squeeze-hugged the blond.

"Ca-n't brea..."

He loosened his grip, but didn't end the hug. Instead he faced the other, marvelling at the awesome person that he spent his time with. Grian met his gaze for a bit, then let his head sink.

"I'm sorry for yesterday. I was... in a weird mood. But I'm much better now. Can we just forget it?"

Iskall hesitated for a second. This was a thing that clearly had bothered his partner... But he shrugged.
"Who has time to remember anyway? We have an elder guardian to catch after all!"

Grian gave him a grateful smile.
"Well first we gotta find one," he noted.
"Excuse me?" Iskall replied indignantly. "What do you think I've been doing all morning, while you lazy person had a sleep-in?"

Grian's mouth stood open for a split-second before he ducked out of the hug and happily jump-walked to the door. "That means were good to go! I just gotta grab a few rockets," he proclaimed excitedly and proceeded to fight the enormous chestmonsters Iskall had eyed on the way in.
He was still so glad they weren't his.

(If you want to watch them catch the elder guardian, check out this video:
It's Iskall's episode 62, start at 12:30 - 19:44 )

https://youtu.be/ZWCMgsR9G9w

"This is going to annoy them so much" Grian exclaimed happily. 

Iskall was still watching the elder guardian.
"Say hello to your little friend Gimmy! That was... That was dry."

They both chuckled, then started their way back through the secret tunnels.

POV Grian

Darkness surrounded them, only broken by the occasional torch. The rush of excitement was subsiding, so the minecrafters strolled idly through the tunnel. They weren't in a hurry and as the elder guardian's noises vanished in the tunnel, the peaceful silence almost felt romantic. Iskall took Grian's hand. Grian cleared his throat. There was something he wanted, no he needed, to set straight.
"Iskall?"

"Yes, sweetie?"

Grian cringed at the nickname, but it was dark, so Iskall wouldn't have seen it.
"About our conversation yesterday..."

"We had a conversation? Are you sure? I'm not even sure I've seen you yesterday!"

Grian wrinkled his forehead. What was he talking about?

"Although I don't remember much at all. It seems like I have forgotten a lot of that day," Iskall said with an undertone. 

Ooohhh... Grian smiled and punched him playfully.
"You are an idiot!" he said, laughing. 

"And proud to be so!" Iskall replied cheerfully.

"A proud, polyamorous idiot is what you are."
He closely monitored Iskall's reaction, which was rather difficult, because it still was pretty dark in the tunnels. He didn't miss a step, still seemed relaxed, waiting for Grian to continue.

"I'm not against trying out polyamory. You got this wrong. I am a bit weirded out, yes, but you should know me well enough to know that's not gonna stop me. I like weird things, would I hang out with you otherwise?"

"Now hold on a second." Iskall stopped in his tracks. "Are you telling me, what I think you are telling me?" He stared at Grian curiously. Something about his tone made Grian suspicious.

"I-, that depends, what do you think I am telling you?" He asked warily.

"You are going to hit on Mumbo!" Iskall sounded very excited. Of course.

"That's not what I was saying!" Grian moaned, even though he already knew he was fighting a losing battle here.

"But you were! I knew it. Oh, you two are going to be so cute!" Iskall excitedly started walking down the tunnel again, so Grian could only see his silhouette against the light of the next torch. He sighed.

"I thought we've been there. There is no way I will find the courage to ask Mumbo out in a way the spoon notices." Hopelessly he watched Iskall stop and turn around to face him again. Grian couldn't make out his face.

TW: major smooching ahead, A/N in the end is safe for everyone

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"Well, then you'll have to learn it." There weren't enough sighs for Grian to sigh in the world.

"Oh, come on! You'll do great. And I already know the perfect teacher." Grian was sure there was mischief in Iskall's voice, but he didn't have much time to unravel it. Iskall had crossed the distance between them and Grian could make out his face in the darkness again.

"And who would that teacher be?" he asked, already having a suspicion. Iskall came even closer. Grian could feel his breath on his neck, a hot contrast to the cold cave air. Goosebumps climbed his back and he couldn't suppress a shiver. His suspicion got stronger, but he sure as hell wasn't objecting the suggestion. "Oh, I was thinking of someone who knows how to charm people." He caressed Grian's arm and his heartbeat quickened. "Oh, do you think Ren can make time for me?" he breathed, meeting Iskall's gaze with a provoking twinkle in his eyes. But as Iskall's fingers weaved between his, he couldn't resist moving even closer to his partner. It was as if Iskall had become magnetic. And as the distance between them was closing, Iskall leaned forward and whispered in his ear. "I was not talking about Ren." And teasing teeth bit his earlobe.

Grian's knees almost gave in. He was glad it was quite dark, his face felt so hot, he must've looked like a tomato.

Perhaps Iskall had noticed his standing becoming less secure, because seconds later his fingers felt empty, as Iskall's hands gripped his shoulders and Grian was softly steered against one of the walls.

"I think you know, who I mean," Iskall whispered, a grin on his lips. Grian met his gaze and their eyes locked.
"I think I do," he said and pulled Iskall closer. He couldn't bear any more suspense and finally Iskall's rough lips lay on his. His mind melted away. There were no more thoughts, just the moment and the moment was Iskall. His lips on Grian's lips, his hands on Grian's side. Passionately he flung his hands around Iskall's neck and clawed his hands into the brown hair that bordered it. A tongue tickled his lip and he accepted the invitation, engaging in a playful fight of tongues.

Then Iskall's teeth bit his lower lip and Grian let out a moan, which Iskall used to secure the win in their little fight. But two could play this game! He pinched Iskall's buttcheek, yielding a surprised squeak that broke their kiss. Grian grinned broadly at him.
"You got me there." Iskall said through gritted teeth and they both laughed. What now? Grian suddenly felt awkward. Would they just continue making out and just do it right here? The tunnel air was strangely cold on his hot skin. "We probably should head home," he said abruptly. "We've taken quite some time and I don't want to wander outside after nightfall," he continued, his voice hollow in the semi-truth it was speaking.
The two of them awkwardly disentangled and despite all the awkwardness Grian felt cold and empty without Iskall close to him.

A/N:

And we have a cliffhanger. Our two protagonists have a lot of unresolved issues and if you asked me, they've already let things go too far. 

I don't think it was a good idea for them not to talk things out from the previous chapter. It's not helpful to just pretend something didn't happen and as the lovely @thebirdfantasy recently pointed out to me, you need to make sure the other person knows your intentions as well as your regrets. You need to speak your truth, your friends can't read your mind.

Being honest, even just with yourself, can be incredibly hard and I've seen many tears being cried in the process. But most incredibly, it's still worth it.
And if you ask me, being honest is the only way things can work in the long run.

Sure, a lie in small talk to a stranger isn't nice, but it won't break you. Lying to or hiding from the people closest to you... It can and it will.

Question of the day:
When were you being honest and/or open about your feelings - even though it was hard - and things turned out way better than you expected?